Zynga and Facebook have renegotiated a deal that previously gave the publisher additional perks for releasing games on the social network, opening up its games to rival platforms as a result.

That's according to GamesIndustry.biz, which reports amendments detailed in an SEC filing will see Zynga abiding by Facebook's "standard terms of service" effective March 2013, shelving bonuses the firm previously benefited from.

Such perks have never been made public, though it's believed Zynga was afforded a greater revenue share than other developers in return for keeping its games tied to Facebook.

Going solo

Now, however, Zynga is both free to target other social platforms and will also "no longer be separately obligated to display Facebook ad units or implement Facebook credits on any such Zynga game pages."

The change in the relationship between the two parties is illustrative of the falling importance of Facebook to Zynga's revenues.

The social publisher has struggled to regain its momentum after switching its focus to mobile, despite notable successes and the acquisition of Draw Something studio OMGPOP, and lost a whole host of key executives.

Zynga's contribution to Facebook revenues is also, in turn, on the slide. The firm's games accounted for just 7 percent of the platforms sales as of October – down from a high of almost three times that.

Facebook and flexibility

According to Zynga CRO Barry Cottle, however, Facebook remains an important cog in the company's wheel.

"Zynga's mission is to connect the world through games," said Cottle in a statement.

"In order to do this, Zynga is focused on building enduring relationships with consumers across all platforms from Facebook and Zynga.com on the web to tablets and mobile.

"Our amended agreement with Facebook continues our long and successful partnership while also allowing us the flexibility to ensure the universal availability of our products and services."

Other amendments negotiated allow Zynga to cross-promote non-Facebook games and remove the requirement for the firm to use Facebook Credits within titles.

[source: GamesIndustry.biz]